Homemade Soap vs Commercial Soap- What’s the Difference?
While store-bought soaps are filled with harsh chemicals that can dry out your skin, all-natural soap products are safe for your body and moisturizing to your skin. Even if a store-bought soap is labeled as “natural,” the reality is that it still contains chemicals that burn your eyes and harm your skin. Natural soaps smell fresh and have a cleansing, skin-smoothing effect. The vast majority of handmade soaps use natural oils as the key ingredient. You have to get the perfect balance of these oils because too much and the soap will be soft and mushy, too little and it will be harsh on your skin. It is a delicate balance and is why making truly wonderful all natural soap is in reality a type of art in and of itself! Another thing to consider is that store-bought soaps use artificial fragrances by adding chemicals to the soap mix. Handmade soaps get their fragrance from the natural ingredients that are added, like therapeutic essential oils. Finally, homemade soaps using natural oils and ingredients have a higher content of glycerin and other moisturizers,which is why many homemade soaps have a rich and creamy later and are much more moisturizing than store bought bars. Many people do not need to even use moisturizing cream when washing with pure all natural soaps!
As a mother of three girls, one of whom has a slew of allergies, we love the homemade soaps I can buy from a friend of mine that makes them. And as stated in the blog, you do not need to use lotions or creams, as these soaps really do moisturize And we notice that the homemade soaps last longer than the store bought, so it is worth the little more you’ll pay for it.
You know, I’ve always wondered what is done differently. I always imagined that people who make homemade soaps have a more natural and organic way of doing things. It’s true, many companies false advertise their products as being “natural” or “moisturizing” when they are not. It’s like I said with the shea butter post I just read, you have to read labels very carefully, and even then you can’t be sure. I always say, if you can’t pronounce something on a label or have no idea what it is, you probably shouldn’t trust it.
I do have a question though, can 100% natural soaps still burn your eyes? I imagine they still can. Like if you make an orange infused soap that might burn lol. Anyway, making homemade soap sounds difficult, I give you props.
Thanks for stopping by and for reading our posts, we appreciate the support and hope to see you around more! As for your question, natural soap can still burn your eyes but that is due more to the essential oils and such that are added. In many cases it is the harsh chemicals in commercial soap that actually causes the burning sensation. Some of the oils will burn a little but it is generally less than store bought soaps- at least from what I have experienced using our own homemade soaps. Yes it does take time to do homemade soaps. We use a cooking process that speeds things up but it still takes about 1-2 hours to mix and cook everything and then 2-3 days before the soaps are ready to use.
Thanks for the comment! Our son has sensitive skin too so we make sure to use our natural homemade soaps with him and it really does help!
I think homemade soaps are SO much better than store bought for all the reasons listed above + they’re usually made with love! I do love that I can inhale the natural soap’s scent and know it’s REAL. My favorites are the exfoliating kind so they leave my skin soft and feel good scrubbing my body, but they’re all nice for moisturizing. Once I find a good soap company, I tend to stick with it even if I pay a little more. With all the toxins we take in on a regular basis, it’s reassuring to have a good source for something natural to be putting on my skin!
If you want to find some new natural soaps to try including some coffee scrub soap balls and sugar scrub bars, then check out our etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/shop/DraxisCraftsAndMagic?ref=hdr_shop_menu
My husband has severe eczema – and I mean SEVERE. We frequently joke about his ‘gator skin’. The only two products he has ever been able to use for cleansing are baking soda, which at least doesn’t make it any worse, and homemade lye-based soap, which makes a HUGE difference. Unfortunately, since we’ve moved, I haven’t been able to find any, and my skin is too sensitive to actually make it myself. We’re moving back to the general area we came from, though, and I should be able to find the brand they carry in the mom and pop shops there, which is called Granny’s because, you guessed it, someone’s Granny mixes it up herself and wraps the bars for sale. I absolutely agree that homemade is much better than the commercial stuff you can find.
Well if you can’t find it there or don’t want to wait till you move back feel free to check out the DWP’s online shop at https://squareup.com/market/dwp We have several different homemade soaps for sale there with all the ingredients listed in the descriptions so there’s never any question as to whats inside!
Last week I a bought homemade shop from my neighborhood and it was a nice experience for me. It has the nice gentle and natural smell that you can not get in any artificial soaps. Do you know any homemade recipe for creating such soap. Thank you.
We have 7 basic recipes for soaps that we use to make all of our natural homemade soaps. We use a combination of different oils for our soaps but the basic oils we have on hand include olive oil, castor oil, canola oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and safflower oil.
We just made a brand new batch of aloe vera soap! https://squareup.com/market/dwp does wonders for the skin and helps with a range of conditions such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis. Could be something that would help ease the discomfort and reduce some of the symptoms your husband deals with.
I remember back in high school, we had to do any project we wanted on organic chemistry. And my team and I chose to do one about soaps and actually made some homemade soap for the project. We used only natural ingredients and although the soap we managed to make wasn’t all that great for a first try – it kept crumbling under our fingers – it smelled divine and was really soft on the skin. We actually won third place at a national competition with that project and it opened my eyes on how much better homemade soaps actually were in comparison to shop ones.
I’ll definitely look into that. I wonder if an aloe vera based soap would also be good for sunburns. I personally like putting a cut aloe leaf on an actual burn – it makes it heal faster – but I’m not sure soap would work for that. I’m guessing the cleansers in it would burn. For a sunburn, though, I get those very easily and I can’t even use soap to wash until it heals because it hurts so much.
With the Homemade soaps the cleansing material is actually a part of the Coconut Oil…in store bought soap you will see this as Lauric Acid. The Store bought soaps tend to be harsher on the skin because they are taking the Lauric Acid from the Coconut Oil and leaving behind all of the good benefits of the Coconut Oil (Which can be found here https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/oils/coconut-oil-for-skin.html ) Now add to those benefits the ones associated with Aloe Vera Juice, Lard and Tallow all of which are good for the skin it might be gentle enough on the skin to not burn like most soaps…..however I have yet to test this personally it is just a hypothesis from knowing whats in the soaps.
I would say that one major difference is the fact that commercial soap has a LOT of chemicals in it. REAL soap should not even lather and commercial soap does because of a chemical that is put into them. Making you think that you are “cleaner” because of it, when really your skin is getting dry.
OK, call me a guy. But don’t homemade soaps burn your eyes too? Wouldn’t some of the things that are in them, like the natural oils and such with the scents burn my eyes? I know, I’m a wuss. I’m asking for my daughter. She’s 5 and has sensitive skin and I can’t get anyone to answer the question for me. I’ve left comments everywhere and no one will answer me. Maybe I’ll luck out with you guys.
Any soap CAN burn to some extent but the oils and additives will not be as bad as what all is in commercial soaps that have 5+ chemicals and other stuff in them. A plain soap made with coconut oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and canola oil would be a gentle soap that is much more gentle on the skin and eyes than commercial soaps. We make very gentle and mild soaps that are great for adults and kids!